Calling for an end to violent repression in Haiti!

From the Archdiocese of Milwaukee Office for World Mission

World Mission Ministries of the Archdiocese of Milwaukee is alarmed at the numerous reports of violence that continue to assault our sisters and brothers in Haiti. We understand that on September 30 approximately 10,000 people took to the streets of Port-au-Prince to commemorate the anniversary of the 1991 coup d’etat. Haitian National Police and armed civilians dispersed the peaceful march by firing into the crowd, killing several demonstrators.

Apparently Gerard Latortue, admitted that police had indeed shot into the crowd. The Agence Haitienne de Presse, or AHP, reported him stating: "We shot them, some of the them fell, other were injured, others ran away.” The United Nations Support Mission in Haiti strongly condemned this attack.

In a democracy the constitutional rights of opposition are protected. World Mission Ministries is astonished that, rather than democratic measures, people who worked with and supported President Jean-Bertrand Aristide are regularly subjected to persecution. We have heard reports from human rights organizations and investigative teams that have traveled to Haiti since last February that there is a growing terror campaign. For example, we are told that on October 2 three Fanmi Lavalas former parliamentarians were arrested after making comments critical of the current administration during a radio debate. After a day-long stand-off at Radio Caraibes, police stormed the station and arrested the three without warrants.

We join our voices with those of other organizations who are in solidarity with our poorest neighbors in this hemisphere. We insist that United States government use every diplomatic device at its disposal to impose the same rigorous standards for democracy on the current Haitian governing bodies that they did when President Aristide was governing.

From Bethel Lutheran Church (ELCA)

Our Church, Bethel Lutheran, which has a long history of working with the Haitian people, joins with others who are asking for justice and fair treatment for the Haitian people.  They rightly deserve better treatment then the treatment they are receiving by the present Haitian  government and by our government.    

The Haitian people should be celebrating during this 200 Anniversary of their Independence, but instead they are experiencing greater political unrest, greater suffering, greater violence, greater oppression, greater unemploymnet and greater hunger.  Haiti continues to be one of the poorest countries in the World and the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere.  

It is hard to believe, but day by day the Haitian people are becoming more desperate for their survial.  And our church cries out, "How long Oh Lord, will we allong this to continue?"

The violence, the oppression, the hunger, the suffering, and the hunger must stop!  We must begin to be part of the solution!  We must begin to encourage reconciliation and healing in Haiti.  We must work with the Haitians in the rebuilding of their country.  And we must work at restablishing democratic principals in Haiti that we help tear down.

Sincerely, John G. Lemnitzer, pastor

Bethel Lutheran (ELCA), Phoenix, AZ, (602) 995-0629, Bethelphx@minister.com

From The Ecumenical Program on Central America and the Caribbean

Oct. 13, 2004

We the staff and board of the Ecumenical Program on Central America and the Caribbean (EPICA), a faith based organization in Washington DC are extremely concerned about the documented acts of violence and intimidation being visited upon civil society in Haiti today! It has been made clear to us from many, including the United Nations Support Mission there that since September 30 violence has increased in Port au Prince. On September 30 Haitian National Police and armed civilians opened fire on demonstrators who were using their democratically supported rights to gather as a group in order to commemorate the horrific days of an earlier coup. Eyewitnesses from Port au Prince have reported that up to 45 people have already been killed.

This wave of repression is continuing even in the presence of a United Nations peacekeeping mission (MUNSTAH). The U.S.-backed Latortue regime has unashamedly acknowledged the killings but has not taken measures to restore peace and security to the capital.

We urgently ask for: • The Haitian interim authorities to make every effort to restore peace to Port-au-Prince while respecting the basic human rights of all Haitian citizens, regardless of class or political affiliation. • The UN Mission, Organization of American States’ Inter-American Commission on Human Rights and all human rights organizations to launch an investigation into the violent deaths and crackdown on freedom of expression in Haiti. • The U.S. Congress to condemn the violence occurring in Haiti in the strongest possible terms and to take all appropriate measures to urge the Latortue regime to end the climate of terror which reigns in Port-au-Prince today.

Sincerely, Olivia Burlingame Goumbri Co-Director of EPICA

EPICA National Office 1470 Irving St, NW Washington DC 20010 Tel: 202-332-0292 Fax: 202-332-1184 www.epica.org

From the Nicaragua Network

The Nicaragua Network, as a member of the Latin America Solidarity Coalition, a coalition of organizations and institutions working for global justice in the Americas, and the Act Now to Stop War & End Racism Coalition (ANSWER), is deeply troubled by the daily horrors of civil unrest in cities across Haiti costing the lives of hundreds of Haitians.  We especially condemn the violence that has gripped the capital of Haiti since September 30 when residents of Port-au-Prince affiliated with human rights networks and grassroots organizations began a three-day commemoration of the brutal 1991-94 coup period. Haitian National Police and armed civilians opened fire on the demonstrators, marking a new level in the climate of terror that has persisted since the February 29 coup d'etat.

The overthrow of the democratically elected government of Haiti by a superpower like the US is a dangerous precedent. We need to send a clear message to the Bush Administration that such actions are unacceptable and we will hold accountable those responsible for these acts of injustice.

To that end:

• We denounce the US government for its role in the coup overthrowing the democratically elected government of Haiti and the forced removal of President Jean-Bertrand Aristide from the elected office by the United States military.

This act of 'regime change' set a dangerous precedent for the world and has a particularly destabilizing effect on Latin American countries. The US-engineered coup in Haiti is unethical and immoral and in clear violation of international and federal laws, for which the Bush Administration should be held accountable.

• We demand a Congressional investigation into the Bush Administration's removal of a foreign country's leader from power. We join CARICOM and the African Union in condemning this removal of a democratically elected president. This is not the first time the US government has acted in direct military retaliation against governments who differ from its economic and political policies.

We also demand:

• The unconditional and immediate return of President Aristide to Haiti in order to serve out his term of office until 2006.

 

• A congressional investigation into the role of the US government in the deliberate destabilization of the Haitian government and the implementation of the coup.

• An immediate end to the repression and daily attacks on Lavalas supporters and those demanding the return of President Aristide.

• Support for Haitian refugees, including Temporary protective Services (TPS) to refugees from Haiti who are fleeing the terror of their home country. (Support H.R. 3867.)

In conclusion, we are alarmed by Bush Administration's audacity in forcibly removing an elected President from office in total disregard of international norms and laws. We are highly concerned by the overall negative image of the US in global politics. As progressive members of the global community, we strive to co-exist with the peoples and governments of the world in total respect for their sovereignty, which precludes coercive military attacks on foreign countries and their elected officials.

The Latin America Solidarity Coalition of which the Nicaragua Network is a member urges support by Members of Congress for H.R. 3919, the TRUTH Act, sponsored by Reps. Conyers and Lee.

In solidarity, Katherine Hoyt National Co-Coordinator Nicaragua Network 1247 E St, SE Washington, DC 20003 USA